Reigning World Rally champion Thierry Neuville has praised Elfyn Evans’ “amazing” start to the 2025 season – in particular his ‘standout’ victory in Sweden.
Evans finished second on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, seeing off the challenge of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux to effectively lead the championship with event winner Sébastien Ogier only contesting a part-time season.
That placed Evans first on the road in Sweden, where “perfect” conditions and a lack of fresh snowfall eliminated the disadvantage that would normally bring.
In a committed drive, Evans grabbed victory, as well as the powerstage win, after a close fight with Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
The Welshman has also won both Super Sundays so far this year, earning him a 28-point championship lead over Ogier, with Kalle Rovanperä 30 points adrift and Neuville another two behind.
“Elfyn has been amazing,” Neuville told DirtFish.
“I mean, he was good in Monte Carlo, which wasn’t a surprise because he has always been good on Tarmac and Monte Carlo overall. But this weekend [in Sweden], he stands out, definitely.
“He had good conditions on the first pass on Friday, definitely, and he made the best out of it, because he understood that it was where he had to make the difference, because he would lose time in the afternoon.
“Still, he did a great afternoon in those conditions, keeping the lead. I said it before, heads up for his performance this weekend. No real mistake. I think he had one moment yesterday [Saturday], but he got away with it, and that’s part of rally.”
Ott Tänak feels Evans’ Toyota team has done a better job than his Hyundai squad.
“It’s more like Toyota has been very, very strong, you know, like twice maximum points already,” he told DirtFish, when asked if Evans was going to be hard to beat this year.
“So for sure, they are doing a very good job at the moment and it’s something where we need to catch up and, for sure, do better in the next rallies.”
If it was maximum points on the first two rounds, then it would be great!Elfyn Evans
Rovanperä has a Toyota at his disposal, but has struggled to adapt his driving style to 2025’s new Hankook tires.
The double champion knows what it’s like to establish an early jump in the championship, having done so in 2022 en route to his first world title.
“He has done a really good job, especially this weekend, really nailing the whole Sunday also – it makes a big difference on the points,” Rovanperä said of his team-mate Evans.
“Like we can see, he’s already having a massive lead, so he’s done a good job so far.”
Evans himself said “it’s definitely been a good start” to the year. So, after personally dropping only nine points out of a possible 70 so far this season, what would it take to make it great?
“Well,” he laughed, “if it was maximum points on the first two rounds, then it would be great!”
